Parents in Germany who refuse to vaccinate their children against measles would be required to pay up to €2,500 ($2,800) in fines and their children would be thrown out of kindergarten, according to a draft law put forward by Health Minister Jens Spahn.
“I want to eradicate measles,” Spahn told the mass circulation Bild am Sonntag paper. “All parents should be secure in the knowledge that their children will not be infected and endangered by measles.”
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute believes that 93% of children have the necessary immunization. However, this is still short of the recommended 95% rate.
Spahn said the kindergarten ban would help protect children too young to receive any immunization shots.